Notes

Administrative history

ONE Inc. was founded in the last months of 1952, employed W. Dorr Legg as business manager in June 1953, and was officially incorporated by October 1953. The articles of incorporation declared that ONE Inc.'s primary goal was "to publish and disseminate a magazine dealing primarily with homosexuality from a scientific, historical and critical point of view, and to aid in the social integration and rehabilitation of the sexual variant." The publication of ONE Magazine, first released in January 1953, was the initial focus of the nascent corporation; however, the "General Purposes" section of the articles of incorporation listed the additional goals of education, research, and promoting integration. By the first available annual report in 1957, these purposes had developed into the major divisions of ONE Inc.: Publications, Education, Research, and Social Service. In 1968 the Commercial Division, also known as ONE Enterprises, was added to improve fundraising capacity, and in 1969 the Library Division. Although this organizational structure had largely disintegrated by the late 1970s, the functions of publishing, education, library services, and to a lesser degree research and social service, were maintained.

Departments that provided administrative services at various times across ONE Inc.'s history include the Bureau of Public Information, the House and Hospitality Committee, Business and Accounting, and Public Relations. Other departments that briefly emerged from other division services include the Book Service and News Service. The ONE World Travel Club, although never designated as a department or division, nonetheless provided a consistent travel service for ONE Inc. for over twenty years. The Institute for the Study of Human Resources (ISHR) was established in 1964 largely to funnel tax-deductible funds to ONE Inc. activities. Satellite offices were established between 1965-1978 as an outreach service of ONE Inc. in Chicago, Detroit, Long Beach, New York, and Phoenix.

Upon W. Dorr Legg's death in July 1994, the function of the organization shifted from an educational to an archives and library orientation. ONE Inc. and the International Gay and Lesbian Archives merged by the end of the year under the title of ONE Institute (since retitled the ONE National Gay and Lesbian Archives). Although some services such as lectures, the newsletter, and library services were maintained after the merger, a significant enough break had occurred to collocate the records into two chapters of a long history. The records documented here refer to that first chapter, 1952-1994.

Timeline of events

The following timeline provides a brief survey of the significant events in the history of ONE Inc.

October 1952: The topic of a homosexual magazine was first broached at a Los Angeles Mattachine meeting. This led to a series of increasingly dedicated discussions regarding the practicality, legality, and funding of the endeavor.

November 1952: The name of ONE was proposed by Guy Rousseau (Bailey Whitaker) from a quotation by Thomas Carlyle: "A mystic bond of brotherhood makes all men one." At a follow-up meeting, the name of ONE Inc. was proposed and adopted by a board of three directors acting as officers of the corporation as required by California state law. Historical accounts list the three directors as Martin Block, Chairman; Don Slater, Vice-Chairman; and Dale Jennings, Secretary-Treasurer; although when the articles of incorporation were submitted on February 7, 1953, they were signed by Martin Block, Chairman; Tony Sanchez (Tony Reyes), Vice-Chairman; and Dale Jennings, Secretary-Treasurer. Corporation membership was set at nine people of which the first seven were Martin Block, Tony Reyes, Dale Jennings, Guy Rousseau, Merton Bird, Don Slater, and William Lambert (W. Dorr Legg). The additional two corporate members, Eve Elloree (Joan Corbin) and Ann Carll Reid (Irma "Corky" Wolf), were added in July 1953.

December 1952: The first letters and subscriptions were received.

January 1953: The first issue of ONE Magazine was published. Copies were sold hand-to-hand by staff members.

February 1953: ONE Inc.'s articles of incorporation were filed with the state of California. Local bars Le Bouf, Windup, and Rendezvous agree to keep 50 copies of ONE Magazine on hand for sale to their customers.

May 1953: ONE Inc.'s charter was granted by the state of California.

June 1953: W. Dorr Legg was employed as the business manager, the corporation's first full-time employee.

August-September 1953: The Los Angeles postal authorities seized the August issue of ONE Magazine. Authorities released the issue three weeks later without explanation.

October 1953: By-laws were completed, approved, and filed with the state of California.

November 1953: ONE Inc. opened an office at 232 South Hill Street, Los Angeles, complete with a library and peer counseling services.

1954: The Los Angeles postal authorities seized the October issue of ONE Magazine on charges of obscenity.

ONE Inc. directors voted to conduct "a series of forums... dealing with scientific, philosophical, legal, and social questions pertaining to homosexuality." The forum became known as the Midwinter Institute.

1955: The first Midwinter Institute convened.

Eric Julber filed suit against Los Angeles Postmaster Otto K. Olesen for the seizure of the October 1954 issue of ONE Magazine.

The play Game of Fools by James Barr was published.

1956: The District Court upheld the obscenity charges of Postmaster Olesen.

The ONE Confidential newsletter was released to ONE Inc. staff and members.

The ONE Institute of Homophile Studies name was adopted and a board of trustees appointed. One week later the first course "An Introduction to Homophile Studies" began instruction.

"A Study of the Civil Rights Status of Homosexuals under Existing Laws of Several States" was released.

Dr. Evelyn Hooker's "The Adjustment of the Male Overt Homosexual" was released based on subjects supplied by ONE Inc. and the Mattachine Society.

1958: The Supreme Court, without comment, reversed the decisions of the lower courts that ONE Magazine was obscene.

The first ONE Institute Quarterly: Homophile Studies and ONE Book Service were released.

1959:The Kevel was published.

The ONE Inc. offices add a room allowing a great expansion of the library.

1961: The first travel tour was put together but never enacted due to a dispute with Continental Travel.

1962: ONE Inc. moved to 2256 Venice Boulevard, Los Angeles.

1964: The first travel tour, a three-week guided excursion through Europe, was successfully completed.

The Institute for the Study of Human Resources was established by Reed Erickson and W. Dorr Legg as a nonprofit affiliate of ONE Inc.

1965: A breakaway group of ONE Inc. staff led by Don Slater secretly removed business records and furniture from ONE Inc., leading to a protracted legal dispute. Between May and August 1965 two separate ONE Magazines were published.

The library was named the Baker Memorial Library after Dr. Blanche M. Baker.

ONE in Detroit and ONE in Chicago were founded.

1966: The first ONE Calendar announcing ONE Inc. events was released.

ONE in New York was founded.

1967: ONE Magazine ceased publication.

The first annotated bibliography was published by W. Dorr Legg and Julian Underwood.

ONE Inc. sponsors English gay rights activist Antony Gray on a lecture tour across the United States.

1968:ONE Letter was released, replacing ONE Confidential.

ONE Inc. took part in the effort to replace Los Angeles city councilman Paul Lamport with Bill Stevenson, the first known election in Los Angeles affected by gay and lesbian political activism.

1969: "A Study of 388 North American Homosexual Males" was released.

AE: The Open Persuader by Auctor Ignotus was published.

ONE in Phoenix was founded.

1970:ONE Institute Quarterly: Homophile Studies ceased publication.

1972: ONE Magazine was re-released, but only lasted through four issues.

Pat Rocco filmed the documentary ONE Adventure about a ONE Inc. travel tour with Troy Perry.

1981: The California State Department of Education officially accredits ONE Institute of Homophile Studies as an advanced-degree program. The focus of ONE Inc. thereafter became the educational activities of ONE Institute.

1982: The ONE thirty year celebration banquet brought together an unprecedented guest list of gay and lesbian activists.

1983: ONE Inc. moved into the Milbank Mansion. A protracted legal dispute ensued with Reed Erickson contesting ownership of the property.

1994:Homophile Studies in Theory and Practice by W. Dorr Legg was published.

W. Dorr Legg dies.

ONE Inc. merges with the International Gay and Lesbian Archvies.

Timeline of people

The timeline lists the individual names of those who have served as directors or in other capacities with ONE Inc., 1953-1994. Please note that this is not an exhaustive list of all people who participated in ONE Inc. in any given year.

Processing this collection has been funded by a grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities.

Access

The collection is open to researchers. Access restrictions are noted where applicable.

Publication Rights

Researchers wishing to publish material must obtain permission in writing from ONE National Gay & Lesbian Archives as the physical owner of the material. Note that permission to publish does not constitute copyright clearance. ONE National Gay & Lesbian Archives can grant copyright clearance only for those materials for which we hold copyright. It is the responsibility of the researcher to obtain copyright clearance for all other materials from the copyright holder(s).

Preferred Citation

Abstract

The collection consists of the administrative records, publications, correspondence, divisional records, affiliate office records, and photographs of ONE Inc., 1907-2001, bulk 1952-1994. The records include annual reports, court records of ONE Inc. legal entanglements, complete runs of ONE Magazine and ONE Institute Quarterly: Homophile Studies, reader correspondence, submissions by writers and artists, ONE Institute course and reference files, the data and reports of internally conducted research projects, and photographs over the course W. Dorr Legg's stewardship of ONE Inc. from 1952 to 1994.

Series 5. Education Division records, 1907-1994, bulk 1953-1994, documents the ONE Institute of Homophile Studies, Midwinter Institute, and lectures. The ONE Institute of Homophile Studies records comprise the bulk of this series and include correspondence, course materials, textbooks, teacher and student files, development files, state filings, and administrative records.

Series 7. Research Division records, 1957-1993, documents internal research projects, cooperative endeavors with university and research teams, and outside research requests and proposals.

Series 8. Social Service Division records, 1953-1971, documents the financial, occupational, legal, investigative, and other services requested of and provided by ONE Inc. staff.

Series 9. ONE World Travel Club records, 1961-1984, undated, consists of the administrative records, promotional materials, tour policies, and correspondence of both participants and administrators of ONE Inc. international tours.

Series 10. Institute for the Study of Human Resources records, 1952-2001, bulk 1964-1997, documents an affiliate agency of ONE Inc. primarily founded to allow tax-deductible funding of ONE Inc. activities.

Series 11. Satellite office records, 1963-1996, documents the operations of the ONE Inc. satellite offices in Chicago, Detroit, Long Beach, New York, and Phoenix.

Series 12. Audiovisual materials, 1952-1998, documents the people, activities, events, lectures, meetings, properties, publications, and history of ONE Inc in photographs, audio, and video.

The functions of the Commercial Division, a short-lived division also known as ONE Enterprises, as well as the functions of the Bureau of Public Information, Business and Accounting, House and Hospitality, and Public Relations Departments are represented in the administrative records series. The functions of the Book Service Department are represented in the Publications Division series. The output of the News Service department is represented in the promotional material section of the publications series.

Custodial History

Many of the records documenting the early history of ONE Inc. are not represented in the collection. Although the foundation of the institution dates back to 1952, the first annual report and tax return in these records are not in evidence until 1957, and many of the early meeting minutes are reproductions. Some records may have been lost as a result of administrative changes, office moves, and internal disputes.

One of the more notable disputes occurred in 1965 when a breakaway group of ONE Inc. staff led by Don Slater secretly relocated business records and furniture from the ONE Inc. Venice Boulevard office with the intention of taking over the publication of ONE Magazine. Although a legal settlement in 1967 and arbitration in 1970 required a return of some materials, it is unknown the extent to which this requirement was carried out. Besides creating unknown gaps in the records of ONE Inc., the split also affected the arrangement of business records. For example, the relocation of subscription and membership files may be the reason behind the existence of two sets of alphabetically arranged correspondence files: one primarily before 1965 and one after.

Another notable dispute occurred in the mid-1980s when ONE Inc. engaged in a protracted legal battle with Reed Erickson over the ownership of the Milbank Mansion, home of ONE Inc. offices. Over the course of this dispute, ONE Inc. offices were ransacked, resulting in great disorder to the records.

Between 2003-2009, Craig Loftin and Richard Hulser each put in great time and effort to reintroduce order to the ONE Inc. records. As much as possible, the arrangements they created have been maintained within this collection.

The ONE Inc. records have been supplemented by small, often anonymous donations from throughout the community. One notable donation is the Joan Corbin and Ginger Blakely papers which has provided an invaluable resource documenting the production of ONE Magazine (see the Institute of Homophile Studies section under the Education Division records series).